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12.04.2014 » Real Madrid 4-0 Almeria. Keeping the pressure on Barça and Atletico
Real Madrid has passed another test without Cristiano Ronaldo, as they hosted and crushed Almería at home, with a clear 4-0 win. These 3 points also allow Carlo Ancelotti's men to sit tight in La Liga's second place, after benefiting from Barcelona's loss, last night against Granada. This Saturday's victory was handed by Angel Di María, Gareth Bale, Isco and Alvaro Morata goals, which helped Real Madrid keeping on track at this very important stage of the season and in the dawn of another "El Clasico" just around the corner. The Real Madrid vs Barcelona Copa del Rey final takes place this Wednesday in Valencia and according to the latest medical reports that came out to public, Ronaldo is still not expected to be fit in time for this game.
Real Madrid 4-0 Almeria goals and highlights video:
One day after knowing that Bayern Munich are their next opponents in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals, Real Madrid had little trouble in disposing of a weak Almeria side, in another Spanish League fixture. Ancelotti made a few rotations to his team, starting by bringing Varane on for Sergio Ramos usual spot, who got injured on his neck during the warm-up drills ahead of this game. Dani Carvajal and Xabi Alonso were also sidelined due to yellow cards accumulation, forcing the Italian manager to pick Nacho and Illarramendi to take their replacements. The match against Almería wasn't promising to be a very serious challenge and the truth is that a "half- gas" Real Madrid controlled the whole game at their will...
The opener arrived around the 27th minute of the first half, through a great combination between Nacho and Di Maria on the right wing. The Argentina international seized the opportunity to cut inside when he was near one of the edges of Almería box, and as found enough space to curl the ball into the far post, he quite simply gave no chances to the opponent's goalkeeper to even get close to reach to it. It's the 10th goal from Di María this season (his 4th in La Liga), which already allows him to set a new personal record since he arrived to Spain, back in 2010.
The second half basically started with Real Madrid turning another gear up in hopes of sealing the deal as soon as possible. Almería didn't show any capability to bother the hosts and it naturally didn't take too long for the Merengues to go 2 goals up after the break. Di María and Karim Benzema led the attack through the middle corridor and the Frenchman got to assist Bale on the left, who had just been left with a lot of space already inside the box. The former Tottenham winger took his time to strike the ball as he wanted and easily made it 2-0 for Real Madrid.
The 3-0 came right after and once again, it got fabricated by Angel Di María and Karim Benzema. This time however, the two decided to set Isco up with the goalscoring chance and the former Malaga midfielder showed his teammates they can definitely rely on him when it comes to score goals. After controlling Benzema's cross already inside Almería's box, the Spaniard found a gap between his opponent's legs in order to strike the ball through them and beat Esteban for the 3rd time on the night. That was Isco's 8th goal in the league this season...
Almería was finally put to sleep already inside the last 10 minutes of the game and it would be someone who had came in from the bench scoring that last goal of the match. Illarramendi was given way too much time to think and take a decision on what to do just a few meters outside Almería box, which allowed him to spot Morata's run and set him up with a 1-on-1 situation, after a brilliant lob pass. The "Canterano" kept his composure in front of goal and had no trouble at alll to beat Almería's goalkeeper and set the final score in 4-0.
With Barcelona's loss in Granada and Atletico Madrid only playing later this Sunday against Getafe, Real Madrid are now second in the league, one point on top of Barça and tied with Atletico. The Spanish League title run couldn't be tighter this season...
Real Madrid line-up vs Almeria:
Goalkeeper: Diego López
Defenders: Fábio Coentrão, Varane, Pepe, Nacho
Midfielders: Illarramendi, Modric, Di María
Attackers: Isco, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema.
| Match stats provided by www.ronaldo7.net
|
||
|---|---|---|
Real Madrid
|
vs
|
Almeria
|
4 |
Goals |
0 |
29 |
Shots |
5 |
14 |
Shots on goal |
2 |
8 |
Corner kicks |
7 |
7 |
Fouls commited |
7 |
0 |
Yellow cards |
0 |
0 |
Red cards |
0 |
62% |
Ball possession |
38% |
Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Real Madrid will be against Barcelona for the final of the Copa del Rey, on April 16, 2014. You can watch Juventus live stream, Real Madrid vs Barcelona, Getafe vs Atletico Madrid, Manchester City vs Liverpool, and Swansea vs Chelsea, all matches provided from our live soccer section.
Real Madrid next game:
Real Madrid vs Barcelona kick-off time (16-04-2014):
Jakarta (Indonesia) | GMT+7: 02:30
Spain (Madrid) | GMT+2: 21:30
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | GMT+1: 20:30
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | GMT-3: 15:30
New York (United States) | GMT-4: 14:30
Los Angeles (United States) | GMT-7 11:30
Beijing (China) | GMT+8: 03:30
Sources: ronaldo7.net / realmadrid.com / bbc.com
